Nominate your unsung local heroes for the Spirit of North Tyneside awards!
Nominations are open for the Elected Mayor’s Spirit of North Tyneside Awards 2021.
Organised by North Tyneside Council in partnership with VODA, the event returns following the success of last year to celebrate our unsung heroes who selflessly give their time and energy to the people and communities of the borough.
In 2019, the council declared a climate emergency and more recently announced plans to work towards being carbon net zero by 2030 – the awards will therefore also recognise those people, groups and businesses who are committed to keeping North Tyneside sustainable and green.
The award categories are:
- Chair’s award for outstanding contribution to North Tyneside – a person or group who has made an outstanding contribution to North Tyneside and has gone above and beyond for residents or their community
- Young Mayor’s award for children and young people’s outstanding contribution to North Tyneside – a child or young person who has made an outstanding contribution to North Tyneside and has gone above and beyond for residents or their community
- Helping to make North Tyneside a Thriving Borough – a person or group who has helped to make North Tyneside an extra special place
- Caring for people in your community – a person or group who has cared for those in our community who need it most
- Supporting families in your community – a person or group who has gone above and beyond for their neighbours
- Keeping North Tyneside safe and secure – a person or group who has made our community feel safer
- Keeping North Tyneside sustainable and green – a person or group who has contributed to our aims to make North Tyneside green and sustainable and embraced the challenges of climate change
North Tyneside’s Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn CBE, said: “This celebration is about saying thank you to those unsung heroes who help North Tyneside thrive and who care about people, families, communities, and our beautiful borough.
“That could be helping a neighbour, signing up to volunteer, setting up a local group, or random acts of kindness. This is your chance to say thank you and for everyone to see the real Spirit of North Tyneside. We want to let them know that what they do makes a difference and it’s appreciated.
“I am immensely proud of the close-knit community we have where everyone looks out for each other. If you know of anyone who has made a difference in their local community over the last year, please tell us about it and we will strive to make sure that they get the recognition they deserve.”
Robin Fry, Chief Executive at VODA, said: “Last year, the Spirit of North Tyneside celebration was an amazing opportunity to shine a light on how our communities work together and make a difference to the lives of others every day.
“We want to hear from as many people as possible so that we can celebrate what it is that makes North Tyneside such a great place to live. Big or small, we want to hear about it. So please nominate any person or organisation who you feel deserves recognition.”
Among last year’s nominees was Taz Akhtar who runs the Lifestyle Express shop on Chirton Front Street, North Shields.
Taz was nominated by Mike Burgess from the Phoenix detached youth project who said: “This amazing person is a key community figure: always open to listening and supporting local people with a range of issues when they pop to the shop, offering a listening ear to lonely or isolated people.
“She is quite simply an amazing example of community spirit in action.”
If you know an individual or a group who has shown the Spirit of North Tyneside and deserves a thank you, then please let us know by filling in this form: https://bit.ly/SpiritNT or email the information to SpiritOfNorthTyneside@northtyneside.gov.uk.
Closing date: Sunday 7 November
